PROVO — BYU has long been known for producing prolific quarterbacks, and the Cougars' remarkable QB assembly line was honored again Monday, when Ty Detmer was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

The National Football Foundation announced that Detmer, the 1990 Heisman Trophy winner, is the first member of the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame Class. It marked the first time Detmer's name appeared on the ballot. The entire class will be announced Tuesday.

"I think it's tremendous," legendary coach LaVell Edwards, who was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2004, told the Deseret News. "I thought it would happen on the first ballot, but you never know. It's certainly well-deserved. I'm really happy for him. It's a tremendous choice."

Detmer will be the fifth BYU quarterback inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon and Steve Young. Edwards and Cougar tight end Gordon Hudson have also been enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which is located in South Bend, Ind.

"That's amazing," Edwards said of the proliferation of BYU quarterbacks that have been elected to the Hall of Fame. "When you stop to think about that, it's something pretty good. They're all great players, very deserving."

BYU is second to Notre Dame with the most quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame. The Fighting Irish boast nine QBs in the Hall, while Stanford, which is No.. 3, has four.

Detmer, who played for the Cougars from 1988-91, was one of 76 All-America players and eight coaches on the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

At BYU, Detmer set 63 NCAA records and was a consensus All-America in 1990 and 1991. He also won the Davey O'Brien Award twice, in 1990 and 1991. Detmer is third in NCAA career passing yards (15,031) and was the career NCAA pass efficiency leader (162.7).

"Ty was a tremendous talent and an absolute legend at BYU," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "He accomplished almost everything a player can do in college football, and the way he played the game was truly ahead of its time. He is a very deserving member of the College Football Hall of Fame."

Detmer enjoyed a 14-year career in the National Football League, playing with the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.

Since 2009, Detmer has been the head coach at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas.

The founder of the Ty Detmer Charitable Foundation, he regularly holds the Ty Detmer Youth Football League in Grants, N.M. He remains involved in the Davey O'Brien Foundation and the Children's Miracle Network, and he makes yearly appearances at numerous fundraising events for youth organizations.

Induction for the 2012 Hall of Fame class will take place on Dec. 4 at the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the historic Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Edwards plans to be there.

"We've been going to the ceremony since I was coaching," he said. "It's kind of special to be there, and see the banners of those who have been inducted. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you'd ever seen one of those ceremonies, let alone be a part of going in. It's very thrilling. It's a great evening. There are a lot of great players over the years that are in there."

Including this year's class, only 914 players and 197 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame out of the nearly 4.86 million who have played or coached over the past 143 years. That means only two one-hundredths of one percent (.0002) of college football players have earned that distinction.

BYU Cougars in the College Football Hall of Fame

Name Position Year enshrined

Gifford Nielsen Quarterback (1994)

Marc Wilson Quarterback (1996)

Jim McMahon Quarterback (1998)

LaVell Edwards Head coach (2004)

Steve Young Quarterback (2005)

Gordon Hudson Tight end (2009)

Ty Detmer Quarterback (2012)Ty Detmer's BYU career at a glance

Twice named a consensus All-American and winner of the 1990 Heisman Trophy, Detmer's 15,031 career passing yards and 121 touchdowns were NCAA bests at the time, and the gunslinger still holds nine NCAA records. A three-time First Team All-WAC performer, Detmer led College Football Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards' teams to three conference championships, four bowl games, three AP top 25 finishes and a 28-21 win over top-ranked and defending national champion Miami on Sept. 8, 1990. The Cougars compiled a 37-13-2 overall record during the Detmer years. The NCAA Today's Top VI Award recipient still holds 10 school records, including the season and career marks for total offense, passing yards and 400-yard games.